


Scared

by Spannah339



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 10:50:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15772614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spannah339/pseuds/Spannah339
Summary: Prompt: Ralph got freed from the camps and brought to Jericho where they decided he needs to get repaired soon. Doesn't go well with his trust issues and traumatic past, so he's out of one panic attack into the next, triggering his fight and flight responses and repairs have to be aborted because of his stress level. But Alice sneaks in when she finds out. Dropping her child attire to be able to comfort Ralph, but trying to keep Kara from finding out she can do that





	Scared

**Author's Note:**

> I feel /nothing/  
> This is a very bad fic, so warning you now.  
> I tried to post this three times.  
> It's done and I am never thinking about this again.

 

              When Alice heard a badly damaged and traumatised android was causing trouble in New Jericho, she had to know who it was. So she slipped out of the house one night, leaving Kara and Luther talking together, and made her way to the small house said android was staying in.

              Apparently, Markus had tried to help him, to repair him, but he had been terrified and acted violently towards those trying to help. He had been isolated to a small house and left alone. Now Alice found herself standing outside the house, in a mostly abandoned part of New Jericho – a place where the troublesome androids were left and ignored.

              She stepped silently towards the window, peering into the dimly lit house. A figure was sitting at the table, scratching at it with a large nail. It was who Alice was expecting – it was Ralph.

              She wanted to leave – she  _should_  leave – but something about the way he was sitting, so dejected and miserable, made her want to do something, despite the fear their last interaction had installed in her.

              Then he turned and stared right at her. She froze, caught in the act of peering through the window. What would he do to her – he was unstable, even she could tell that.

              But his face just lit up and he bounded out of his seat. He rushed to the window and flung it open, causing Alice to stumble back and trip, landing on the cold pavement under the window.

              “It’s the little girl, hello! Ralph is glad to see you,” he called out of the window. Alice scooted back quickly before standing up, a safe distance away. She eyed him nervously, slightly scared. But she was young, fear didn’t last long, and he had helped her and Kara.

              “Hello, Ralph,” she said. “I wanted to see if you were alright.” Ralph paused as if considering what she had just said.

              “Ralph has a new house. People want to come to hurt Ralph, but Ralph won’t let them anymore. Ralph won’t let anyone hurt him.”

              “Markus isn’t going to hurt you,” Alice said. She opened her mouth to keep talking, but something in Ralph’s eye stopped her. He didn’t seem to want to talk about Markus right now. He vanished inside a moment later, before opening the front door and smiling at her.

              “Does the little girl want to come in?” he asked. Alice hesitated, but the adventure of being out late had caught her up and she nodded.

              “Okay, but I can’t stay too late. Or Kara might get worried.” And she stepped inside.

              Despite every part of her saying it was a bad idea, Alice kept visiting Ralph and she found she enjoyed the visits. Around Ralph, she wasn’t treated like a child – in many ways, she was the adult in their friendship. She enjoyed talking to him, she enjoyed playing with him. And she learned how to calm him down when he was angry, how to settle him when she needed to, how to say no to him without him getting violent.

              It became a habit, every evening Alice would slip out of the house while Kara and Luther thought she was sleeping (as a child model, she did need to sleep. But not as much as they thought she did.) and every evening Alice would join Ralph. The more she played with him the calmer he got, the less nervous, the less dangerous.

              But one day, she forgot to visit him. She had been invited for a sleepover by one of the other android children in New Jericho and of course she couldn’t pass that up. Sleepovers were something normal children did and as she stayed up late, laughing and joking, watching movies and playing games she felt normal. And she completely forgot about her other friend, still waiting for her in that empty house.

              She remembered the next day, after school while she was doing her homework. There was a knock at the door and Kara opened it to find Simon standing on the other side. Curious as to why Simon was visiting, Alice slipped to the door, peering out from the living room to the entry hall where Kara and Simon were talking.

              “Afternoon, Kara,” Simon greeted. “Sorry to be a bother, but would we be able to borrow Alice?”

              That set alarm bells ringing for the child. Had she done something wrong? What had she done that would cause Simon to visit her? Did it have something to do with her visits with Ralph?

              “Alice? What do you want her for?” Kara asked.

              “Well… there’s an android we’ve been keeping an eye on – he’s badly damaged but won’t let us help him. Markus and I went to check on him today, to make sure he was doing alright and to see if he’d be more friendly, but he started acting violently and having a panic attack – and he’s asking for Alice.”

              “I – I’ll see what I can do.” She turned, calling for Alice. The girl was suddenly afraid – how would Kara react to finding out about her late night visits. She scrambled back into the living room and tried to turn back to her school.

              “Alice?” Kara asked, and she looked up slowly. “Is it Ralph he means?” Alice nodded, telling herself that Kara wouldn’t hurt her.

              But she had been bad – Kara was right to be angry.

              “Why does he want to visit you?” Kara stepped forward and Alice subtly shifted away from her, not even fully aware of what she was doing.

              “I’ve been visiting him,” she muttered, not meeting Kara’s eyes. There was a long moment of silence and Alice felt her heart beating quickly, no matter how much she told herself Kara wouldn’t hurt her. Kara wasn’t like Todd.

              “Alice, he’s dangerous.”   
              “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “He looked sad.”

              Kara stepped forward again, and again Alice shifted a little away from her. This time, Kara noticed and her face softened.

              “I’m not angry at you,” she said softly. “I’m worried for you – he could have hurt you.”

              Alice nodded relief washing over her at Kara’s words. She wasn’t angry – that meant she wouldn’t hurt her.

              “He didn’t though. He’s just scared. He’s just lonely,” she said. “I can help him – Simon said he needed help, right?”

              Kara sighed, hesitating.

              “He needs help, Kara!” Alice insisted. Finally, Kara nodded.

              “Alright, come on.”

              The followed Simon through the streets, following the familiar path Alice had snuck through at night many times before. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the house, where a small group of androids had gathered.

              “Alright, excuse us,” Simon said, clearing a path to the door of the house. Noise from inside caught Alice’s attention and she slipped her hand out of Kara’s, ducking under the crowd and into the building.

              The commotion was coming from Ralph’s bedroom and as Alice peered around the door she saw him. He was cowering in the corner, gripping his large nail. The nail tip was blue, and Markus was standing over him, one hand pressed to his face.

              “Just calm down, alright,” Markus said, obviously struggling to keep his voice steady. “We’re trying to help.”

              “Ralph won’t let you,” the other android said. “Ralph won’t let you hurt him – or the little girl.”

              “We won’t hurt you,” Markus said, taking a step forward. Ralph shuffled back, his makeshift weapon held high. Alice couldn’t take it anymore, she rushed into the room.

              “Leave him alone!” she cried, stepping between Markus and Ralph. “He’s scared.”

              “Little girl! You’re alright. Ralph thought they had hurt you,” Ralph said. “He was scared.”

              “I’m alright – Markus is a friend,” Alice said. She glanced up at Markus, who was watching them with a frown covering his face, blue blood escaping from a wound on his forehead.

              “Alice, he’s dangerous,” he said softly.

              “No, he’s not. You 're just scaring him,” Alice said.

              “I didn’t do anything!” Markus protested. “I came to make sure he was alright and he attacked me.”

              “Ralph thought you had hurt the little girl,” Ralph said, laying a protective hand on Alice’s shoulder.

              “I’ve been visiting him,” Alice admitted. “I didn’t visit last night and he must have got upset – sorry Ralph. I was busy,” she added, glancing back at her friend.

              “The little girl needs to come play with Ralph. Ralph wants to play with her.” There was a dangerous tone in his voice, and Alice turned to face him, shaking her head.

              “I can’t come all the time. But I’ll come when I can – now, will you let Markus help you?”

              “Ralph won’t let them hurt him,” the damaged android said quickly, glaring at Markus.

              “I’m not going to hurt you,” Markus said. He sounded tired and still wary of Ralph.

              “Markus is a friend,” Alice said. She gently took Ralph’s hand in her own and stepped towards Markus. The damaged android eyed the leader of Jericho with suspicion but allowed Alice to lead him closer. “He wants to help you.”

              “We’ll make you better,” Markus said.

              “I’ll stay with you if you need me to,” Alice said, looking up at him. He nodded slowly.

              “If the little girl thinks it’s safe then Ralph will go,” he said carefully.

              “Thank you, Ralph,” Alice said.

              “Thank you, Alice,” Markus said as the three of them made their way out of the building. “I wasn’t sure what to do.”

              “He was just scared,” Alice said shortly. “You shouldn’t have frightened him.”

              “I’ll remember that,” Markus said with a small smile.

              Together they lead Ralph to the android hospital, where the effort would be made to heal the broken android.  


End file.
